


Puppy Love

by Morgan_Jean



Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Dogs, Other, Pets, Wholesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:40:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25624546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morgan_Jean/pseuds/Morgan_Jean
Summary: Brock helps Jameelah Perry find her first pet.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 48





	Puppy Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all! I'm back!   
> Recently, I've been going through a Brock mood so I've written a few little fics surrounding him. This is the first Brock fic I've written and I'm way more nervous to post this one then I was my first fic, haha! I hope this is cute, I thought the idea was and I just hope I executed it right.

He’d always loved pets ever since he was little. Ever since he could remember he wanted a dog but his mother was “allergic” and his dad didn’t want to be the one to take care of it along with working the already long hours he did. Growing up, his grandmother had a few cats…she was also known as the neighborhood crazy cat lady. He hated cats and they hated him. (Obviously, if someone was hurting a cat, he’d step in and stop it, but he still didn’t like them) There were many times when Brock would come home during the summer his arms covered in cat scratches. Yeah, he wasn’t fond of cats. 

It wasn’t until he was thirteen after his father had remarried a saint of a woman named Veronica that Brock got his pet, a dog. Veronica wanted Brock to be happy with the move, with the change and he thinks mostly, happy with her. She surprised him on his birthday with a beagle he named Guy. While his siblings and father rolled their eyes that Brock now had a dog, Veronica was excited and encouraged Brock to treat this as a grownup life lesson. He already loved dogs, but with Guy and Veronica in his corner encouraging him to grow as a dog owner his appreciation for canines only grew. When Brock got his first K-9 partner, Adele, the first person he called was Veronica, she was over the moon excited for him and his new partner. By now, everyone knew that if you had a dog question, you go to Brock.  _ Everyone _ .

That’s why when Jameelah gave a presentation on why she should have a pet to her parents, Powerpoint (Thanks Mandy and Blackburn) and Pie charts (Thanks Trent and Lisa) included, Ray, knew the one person he and Naima could turn to was the Navy’s best handler. Brock Reynolds. Jammie didn’t want to go pet shopping with her parents, she knew they’d try and push her towards a goldfish or a hermit crab, she was more than eager to go pet shopping alone with Bravo Five. 

“Try and get her a fish,” Niama whispered to the handler on Saturday when he arrived to pick up the nine-year-old. He gives Niama a lazy grin, shoving his hands into his jean pockets, “Any kind of fish you have in mind?” The mother of two gave him a weird look. “Brock, it’s a fish. It doesn’t matter-” she pauses, “Nothing high maintenance. Okay? Nothing that could eat another fish either, those things are weird.” The handler laughs. “I’ll do my best.” 

“Aim for a goldfish,” Ray said quietly like he was afraid for Jameelah overhearing this conversation, “No dogs.” The married couple said in unison. Brock laughed. “No dogs. I got it. I promise.” Part of him wanted to tell the couple that while they may think a Goldfish is "low-maintenance", it wasn’t and took a lot to keep it alive. But Brock decided not to pop their fantasy bubble. 

“I’m gonna go get her,” Ray said to his wife before disappearing down the hall. Naima smiled softly, “She’s excited to go out with you.” Brock grins, “Yeah? That’s sweet.”

Ray reappeared, “I owe you a bottle of Jack, brother. Thank you for doing this.” Brock laughed shaking his head, “I’ll take the whiskey but honestly, this isn’t any trouble. I’m happy to do it.”  Naima raises an eyebrow, “And Cassie? Is she fine with you spending the day with Jammie? Or would she rather you spend the day with her? What was it that you said she did for a living again?” The handler laughs, pointing a finger at the woman that’s become a second sister to him. “Nice try but I’m still not gonna talk.” Naima curses under her breath right as the nine-year-old appears, pushing her way through her parents. “Hi, Uncle Brock! I’m ready to go!” She gives the older man a wide toothy grin that’s short-lived. “Where’s Cerberus?” She looks behind Brock and then checks the front yard. 

“We’re going a lot of places today, kiddo. Cerberus is spending the day with Uncle Clay,” Brock kneels so he’s eye-level with Jameelah. She pouts but nods. The dog handler grins, “But Cerb did want me to tell you that he misses you and can’t wait to see you at next week’s party.”  This causes the nine-year-old to laugh. “He’s a dog, Uncle Brock! He can’t talk!” 

“I don’t know about that, he’s pretty vocal when he wants to be. Did you know he can sing?” Her eyes go wide. “He can sing?” Brock nods matter of factly, “Oh yeah. He sings when I bathe him, he sings when he gets to sit in the passenger seat, he sings for breakfast. He’s a great singer.” Ray and Naima laugh at their friend. “I wanna see him sing!” 

“Well, you gotta wait for next Saturday and you gotta be well behaved throughout the week. Think you can do that? Cerberus doesn’t sing for just  _ anyone _ .” She squeals. “I’ll be good! I promise!” Brock grins and stands up. “Okay, we’re gonna get outta your hair.” Naima hugs her oldest one last time, “Be good, baby. Remember your please and thank yous. Okay?” Jameelah groans, “Mommm,” She gives both her parents a quick squeeze before stepping away. Naima gave Ray a quick smile after noticing their daughter’s embarrassed face. “Call if you need anything, brother,” Ray says giving Brock a head bob. “Yeah, ‘course. Come on, Jammie.”

“Take my hand,” Brock instructed, stopping the younger girl before they crossed the road to his truck, she happily accepts his hand. Jameelah goes to the passenger side door earning a chuckle from Brock. “What do you think your doin’, Jammie?” The nine-year-old blinks. “Getting in the truck…” The curly-haired Seal shakes his head, “Na-uh. Backseat, sweetheart. You’re under 12.” He opens the back door for her.

“My mom lets me ride in the passenger seat.” Jammie crosses her arms. Brock grins, “Your mom is literally right across the street. Want me to go ask her?” Jameelah pales and quickly climbs into the back seat. “Buckle up.” He says before shutting the door. 

Brock frowns when they arrive at a pet store, Jammie looks unimpressed in the rearview mirror. “Somethin’ the matter?” 

“Do they have dogs here?” She asks. He fights back a smile. “I don’t think so, kiddo. But that doesn’t mean we can’t go look around? Right?” Jameelah nods slowly, “I guess…” Brock holds out his hand, “C’mon.” He says as they cross the parking lot, he holds the door open for her letting her inside first. 

“Where do you want to start first,” He asks looking around the shop. Jammie gasps. “The kitties! I wanna go look at the kitties!” She grabs his hand and drags towards the felines. Brock grimaced at the animals; flashbacks to his summer days where he was cornered by his grandmother’s hissing cats taunted his memory. Thankfully this time he didn’t have swim practice right after being scratched by the furry bastards. 

“Really? You don’t want to look at like…the hamsters?” He tries to nudge her in the rodent direction but she wouldn’t budge. “I want to pet them! Think we can pet them?” _I sure fucking hope not._ Brock once again kneels so he’s eye-level with the young Perry. “I’m not sure they’d let us, sweetie. We might have something that can be potentially harmful to the cats.” Jammie pouts, reminding Brock how much she looks like her mother, “Can we at least ask?” She gives him a puppy dog expression that could give Cerberus a run for his money. He sighs, “I don’t see the harm in that.” 

Not too long later, Jameelah and Brock were washing their hands with a cute employee beaming with pride at the duo. “Is there a certain cat you’re looking for?” The young woman asks Jammie. The little girl looks at the cats and points to a white fluffy one with a black paw, “That one!” 

“Good choice, she’s one of my favorites.” Jammie let out a soft squeal of excitement as she held the cat. The woman makes her way over to Brock and grins. “Is there one you want to hold?” He shakes his head pulling out his phone and snapping a few pictures to send to Ray just to give the older man a heart attack. “Nah, just here for moral support.” The woman nods, “Your weekend to have her?”

“Yeah…” He smiles then fully processes what the woman just said, “What? No, no. She’s not my kid. No, no, no. Totally not. I don’t have any kids. No. She wanted a pet and so I’m taking her around today to find one.” Brock freezes again at the way it sounds, “Let me try that again,” the woman giggles. “I’m best friends with her father and I guess I’m the pet expert in the group so he wanted me to take his kid out and find her a pet.” 

“Awe, that’s sweet of you.” She looks on at Jameelah, “I bet you’d be a great father.” She glances at him, “I’m Mindy.” She holds out her hand and smiles as he shakes it. 

“Uncle Brock, come feel how soft this kitty is.” 

Mindy smiles at his facial expression, “Not a fan of cats?” He glances at her, “Not particularly.” But just because he disliked cats does not mean he was going to burst Jameelah’s bubble of happiness. He walks over and places the back of his hand near the cat’s nose, it was easy to tell when dogs accepted you it was a different story with felines. Brock quickly scratched the cat gently behind the ears and like all the other cats he’s dealt with in his life, it hissed at him. The cat hissed again and swiped at Brock’s arm, he took a step back out of reach of the claws, yeah, he’d stick to dogs.

“Sweetie, I think you and this kitty are going to have some wonderful time together.” The employee smiles but Brock is quick to Mandy or Mindy or whoever she was, side faster than she could blink. “Hey now, let’s not go that far." he whispers, "I know you’re just trying to make a sale but her parents don’t want her to bring home a cat. I’m looking at a goldfish or smaller.” The employee gives him a confused look. “What’s smaller than a goldfish?” 

“A plant or a pet rock.” 

“So you want me to convince a little girl that a plant or pet rock would be better than a living animal?”

Brock shakes his head, “No of course not, I’m looking at getting her a turtle. I’m just asking you to cool it with the cat praise.” 

Mindy crosses her arms. “Let me guess, you’re a dog person.” 

“Do you want me to get into how dogs are superior to cats right now?” The lady grins, “No. But maybe you can over dinner.” She takes out a small notebook and writes something down before ripping out the page and handing it to Brock. “I’m free tonight if you want to get drinks.” 

Brock blinks looking at the paper with her number, his eyes widen. “No, no, no. Oh, crap-” “Uncle Brock, no swearing!” Jameelah pips in but he ignores her, “Mandy, shit-” “Uncle Brock!” “I’m not flirting with you. No, no. I have a girlfriend.” Mindy’s smile drops. “Oh… well, this is awkward…” Brock rubs the back of his neck, “Yeah…” 

Did he want to go to another pet store? Not really. Did they? Yes. Jameelah wasn’t too pleased that they had to leave the kitty but he assured her that another little girl would adopt it and give it the bests home ever and that seemed to make her feel better. 

At the new pet store, Brock steered her in the direction of the reptiles. He’d be damned if he had to stare at another hissing creature. “I don’t want a snake,” Jammie says taking his hand as they looked at the scaly things. “What about a turtle? They’re harmless.” She makes a face, “Aren’t they slimy?” “No, they’re wet. Not slimy.”  Jameelah made her way around the reptile cages looking at the different creatures as Brock started looking at tanks. 

“Buying a fish or something else?” A salesman says stepping beside the Seal. Brock glanced at him, his gaze quickly flickering over towards the child in his care for the day, “Something else.” 

“Lemme guess, you’re getting a gecko.” The man smiles proudly, Brock almost hated bursting the plump man’s bubble.  _ Almost.  _ “Nope,” He grinned slightly but it didn’t last long. He frowned at some of the prices for just a tank. 

While Jammie had saved up her allowance for the past three months for a pet, none of them really knew what she’d be getting or how much it would cost. Brock assured them that if he needed too, he’d step in and pay the difference. Naima tried to argue saying that this should be a finance life lesson but the dog handler just waved her off telling her that today should only be about one life lesson and that was taking the huge step in becoming a pet owner. 

“You’re an actual employee here, right? Not just some creep talking to me?” Brock asked the guy. The man looked briefly insulted but nodded anyway. “Okay, question, just for a single turtle how big of a tank are we talking?”

“For a red-eared slider turtle, I’d say about a 20-gallon tank, that’s just for a hatchling though. Adults will need a bigger space.” There was a squeal of excitement towards the reptiles, Brock’s eyes quickly darted over in that direction but let a soft sigh escape when he noticed Jammie among other children watching as a storeworker handle a snake. The man followed Brock’s gaze. “How old is she?” 

“She’s nine, why?” 

“Because turtles carry salmonella, that’s harmful to young children. They can still have the pet, you as the parent though have to take extra precautions and make sure they’re washing their hands before and after handling the turtle.” Brock patted the man on the shoulder and gave a nod of thanks before walking towards Jameelah. Truth be told, he stopped listening when the man said the word salmonella. Naima would shoot him dead if he brought something home that could potentially harm both her children. Ray would say a prayer then promptly hide the body and evidence. He shuddered at the thought as he reached Jammie. “I touched a snake!” She beams as he kneels. “That’s great, how about a fish?” 

“I thought you said turtle?” 

“I'm pretty sure I said fish.” 

Jameelah Perry may look like her mother when she’s happy and cuddling a kitty, but she looks like her father when she gives you the, _Do I look like a dumbass, Clay/Brock/Sonny_ glare.

“I don’t want a fish. You can’t cuddle a fish. You can’t take it out on a walk.” Brock gives her a confused expression. “I’m pretty sure you can’t take a turtle out on a walk either. They’re not known for their speed.” 

“But at least I can hold it!” 

“Yes, but the only way you can get Salmonella from a fish is if you eat it raw or undercook it,” the parents around them stopped what they were doing and stared in horror.  _ Fucking great, now we look like crazy people who were going to buy a fish just to eat it.  _ “Uncle Brock didn’t do the best of researching when looking at turtles. It’s my fault really, next time I’ll have Aunt Mandy look into pets for you.” 

Jammie’s eyes dart behind him and her expression lights up, “I know what I want!” She runs past him and disappears. “I should’ve put her on a fucking lead.” He grumbles standing up. 

“Language you beach bum, there are little ears present.” A woman says covering her twelve-year-old son’s ears. “Lady, he’s twelve. I hardly believe that is the first time he’s ever heard someone curse.” Brock walked past her and went after Jammie. When he found her his skin began to crawl. 

“You... want a rat?”  _ This is fucking worst than the goddamn cat. What the hell, Ray!? _

“Isn’t it cute?” An employee hands her a red-eyed rat and Jameelah is all too happy to shove the rat in Brock’s face. He quickly takes three steps back. “It’s got red eyes, Jammie.” She frowns. “You’re scared of rats?” She pets the furry creature holding it close to her chest. "I didn't think you were afraid of anything, my dad isn't." Brock shivers.

“I’m not afraid of rats… I… I just don’t like the little bastards.”    


“You shouldn’t curse. Mama says it’s bad.” 

_ Yeah so is spending three days and two nights in a rat pit in Malaysia with no fucking way to get out.  _ He tried hard to fight back the memories, he swallows the bile that rose in his throat. Suddenly his arm and leg began to throb. “No rats, Jameelah.” He could feel the little claws running all over him again, the tiny high pitched squeaks echoed in his eardrums. Brock jumped slightly when Jammie tugged on his grey shirt. “Are you okay, Uncle Brock?” He nodded. “Yeah, I just need some air.” She followed him out trying hard to keep up. 

“You got quiet like daddy does sometimes.” Brock took her hand that now smelled like hand sanitizer and led her through the parking lot to his truck. “Did something happen?”

He licked his lips, the phantom feeling still clinging to his body. But she’s just nine, no reason to frighten her. Brock shakes his head. “No. Nothing happened JP.” She doesn’t believe him, he can see it in her eyes but he’s not going to burden a child with horror stories. 

“We’ve been to two pet stores and I still don’t have a pet, Uncle Brock.” Jameelah was bouncing in her seat now but Brock suddenly felt exhausted. He squeezed his eyes shut before he started to drive. “What kind of pet are you looking for, JP?”

“I want a dog!” She says all too eagerly. Oh, how he wished Cerberus was here. Cerberus always steadied him. Right now, he’d also take Cassie. She always brought him back when the current was taking him down into the abandoned well.  _ Fuck, Brock pull yourself together you’re not gonna have a breakdown with a nine-year-old in the truck.  _

He chews on his lower lip and hits his head against the seat. “I might know a great place for you to see some dogs, JP.” He knew he shouldn’t take her to a dog shelter; he knew that she wasn’t going to get a dog. He just honestly needed to be in a space with dogs…okay so maybe he was doing this partly for himself. Is that a crime? Probably.

Not even thirty minutes later, they arrived at the Norfolk Adoption Center. Jammie gave Brock a skeptical look as he took her hand and helped her out of the truck. “I’m not sure my mom would be happy you took me here to get a doggie.”  _ Please is she knew I took you here I’m sure she’d have  _ me _ neutered.  _ Brock shivered at the thought. They stepped inside and were greeted by a small group of people and a mix of teenagers and young children around Jameelah’s age. “They seem packed today,” Jammie mumbles. Brock nods and shuffles her out of the way so they weren’t standing in front of the door.  A woman and her two kids step beside Brock, she smiles at him. “Here for the volunteer sign up too?” He didn’t want to tell her he was just here to look so he just gave a brief smile. “My oldest is signing up for his Government class so he can graduate, I thought it would be fun to make it a family thing on the weekends. Sure he isn’t happy about it but it gets us out of the house.” 

_ I should’ve just had the episode.  _

“Uncle Brock, are we getting a puppy or volunteering?” Jameelah tugs on his shirt looking up at him with those eyes. Why did Ray’s kid have to have Bambi eyes? He squats down, “It depends, do you like spending time with me?” She nods. “Then let’s not jump the gun about getting a dog just yet, sound good?” 

“Is this going to be like those things Uncle Sonny says stays between us? One of those things I can’t tell mommy or daddy about?”  _ Of course, this sounds bad.  _

“That depends, what does Uncle Sonny do?” Brock figured there was a high chance he could die from embarrassment as the room watched. 

She smiles, “He gives me all the candy I want. He once took me to Candy Land when I had a bad day at school. We had so much candy I got sick, then we had more candy!” She pauses, “Can we go to Candy Land after this?”  Brock wasn’t sure if he was going to wring Sonny’s neck or take Jammie to a dentist. That much candy couldn’t be good for her but it also explains why last week she was jumping off the walls and trying to wrestle Cerberus. 

“Then yeah…This is like that, this is gonna stay between us.” Jammie nods in agreement and locked her lips giving her uncle a knowing smile. He grinned and stood up. The woman beside him glanced at him and stepped a little closer. 

“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation,” She starts, “I just wanted to say that the word “gonna” isn’t a word. It’s bad English.” Brock raised an eyebrow. “I’ll…uh…make sure to keep that in mind…” The woman gave a curt nod. “Be sure that you do, we wouldn’t want you to teach this young impressionable lady improper English, now would we?”  _ Fuck, a grammar Nazi.  _ He gives her a tight smile before busying himself in keeping a fidgeting Jameelah to stand still.

Forever passes (in reality it was only a few minutes but with the Grammar Nazi beside him muttering things about propper English it truly felt like forever) a lady dressed casually started passing out reading material. Brock held back his groan, he honestly just wanted to pet dogs, give them some attention, show them a little love but he was now being pulled into what seemed like a class on volunteering. Don’t get him wrong he thought volunteering was important. Brock volunteered for the Navy, he volunteered for the K-9 program and he even volunteered and donated money and toys to places like this with Cassie. But he’s never had to do reading material for any of it. 

Jammie and the grammar Nazi’s son, Caleb, huddled together to read over the material. Brock glanced at it and rolled it up before putting it in his back pocket. The woman eyed him. “You don’t plan on volunteering?”

“I don’t think I need to read how to take care of dogs,” he checked his phone and grinned at a message before quickly typing out a reply. 

“I get where you’re coming from, I thought I knew everything about dogs too, turns out, I don’t know half of what I thought I did.” Brock glances up at the ceiling,  _ Did I do something too you? Was it the cussing around a nine-year-old?  _

“Trust me, ma’am, I know how to work with dogs.” The woman smiled, “Worked in a pet store in high school?”

“Didn’t have enough time to do that,” Brock was about to check his phone again when a lady in the front started talking. Casper was gonna have to wait. 

“Welcome future Volunteers! We’re so excited to have you here with us, I hope you’ve all had a chance to go over the reading material. It’s not a lot, just the basics of taking care of our dogs here. I know, I know, a lot of you adults are probably thinking “Bea, we’ve had dogs all our lives, we know how to take care of them!” But let me tell you this, I thought that too. Then I started working with dogs and realized I didn’t. Didn’t know the appropriate food to give them, I didn’t know how often I should bathe them, or what foods were harmful to them. I didn’t know how to give a dog CPR. I didn’t know the risks of not getting your dogs fixed. I just thought you got them fixed so they couldn’t reproduce. Then I started working here and it opened my little doggie door! I hope it can do the same for you lovely folks.”

Brock groaned and leaned against a nearby wall. He knew all this stuff, in fact he's taught Clay these things in case something happened to him field, and Cerberus would be in the blonde's care until he was taken back to the kennels.  _ Cassie’s going to have a field day with this.  _ He pulled out his cell to text her about getting lunch with him and Jammie later when he heard Jameelah speak up. 

“Excuse me?” He glances over. 

“Yes, little lady?” The energetic redhead said, coming closer. All of the twenty or so people in the room formed around so they could see the brave little nine-year-old.  _ She’s gonna ask about adopting a puppy, shit. I’m a dead man. Sorry Naima, you're getting a dog.  _

“Do all dogs have to get fixed? My Uncle Brock’s dog isn’t fixed and he doesn’t seem sick.” Brock choked on his oxygen. The woman knelt in front of the small Perry, “Well maybe he just doesn’t know the risks. Here, take this pamphlet home and give it to him. It’s always best to get your dogs fixed.” Like some horror show, Jammie pointed towards him. “He’s right there.” 

_ Huh, suddenly I want to back in the rat pit.  _

For a third time today, all eyes fell on him. The redhead walked over and handed him the pamphlet, “You should think about getting your dog fixed.” He knew he should keep his mouth shut and just take the paper.

“No thank you,” He brushed the paper away. The woman gave him a questioning look. “So you’re perfectly fine with putting your dog in danger?”

“Uncle Brock, you wouldn’t want to put Cerberus in danger… would you?”

_ Shit.  _

“Jammie, Cerb is perfectly fine.” Jameelah screwed up her face as she studied the paper in front of her. Gears turning in the little mind of hers. She looked so much like her dad when she thought. She gave him a slow nod. Brock wished he could tell her that he’d never put Cerberus in a dangerous situation, but didn’t want to lie to him. Being a military dog… it’s always going to be dangerous. That’s just how it was. 

“Wait, you named your dog Cerberus? That’s so cool.” Some teenage boy grinned. “What kind of dog is he?”

Before Brock could respond Jammie latched on to him, “I don’t want Cerberus to die!” The handler winced. “He’s not going to-” Brock glanced around them, “Y’all mind? Nine-year-old having a meltdown. The whole world doesn’t need to see it.” The redhead had everyone follow her back to the kneels, leaving Brock and Jameelah alone. 

He squatted down again so he was eye-level with her. “Sweetie, Cerberus’ job is very dangerous. I can’t promise he won’t get hurt, just like I can’t promise Uncle Clay won’t get hurt, but I can promise you this,” she looked up at him, lower lip trembling, “I will move heaven and Earth to make sure he comes home. Okay?” It was the only safe promise he could ever make her. Jammie dried her tears and nodded. “Okay.” 

Brock looked around the shelter and gave a small smile, “I think that’s enough for today? What do you say we get some lunch?” 

She frowned, “I still want a pet though,” She followed him out, grasping his large hand with her small one. “Food first, then we can decide what to do? Sound like a plan?”

“I’m sorry I ruined today.” She whimpers from the backseat. Brock sighs, “Sweetie, JP… you didn’t ruin anything. Okay? You’re just concerned for your pal, that’s not bad.” He glanced back at her and saw her nod. 

At a red light, Jammelah caught Brock glance at his phone and squeaks. “Uncle Brock! No phones while driving or I’m telling mom!” She thought she saw all his color drain from his face but that could just be the change in light. “Right, yeah. Sorry.” Jammie crossed her arms and held out her hand. Brock glanced at her, “You’re not serious are you?” But that Ray Perry  _ Did I stutter  _ look was carved into her face. Yeah, she was serious. He sighed in defeat as he handed her his smartphone just as the light turned green and he started driving again.  Jameelah looks down at Brock’s phone and taps the screen. Normally it’s a cute photo of her favorite furry friend but this photo was different. It was a pretty brunette in a swimming top, she had an arm slung around Cerberus and was planting a kiss on the side of his face, a clear smile on her face. A text popped up on the screen that read  _ Waiting _ . Jammie scrunched her nose at the text and photo. 

“Hey, JP, you don’t mind if a friend joins us for lunch? Do you?” Brock asks as he parks his truck across the street from a diner. Her stomach grumbled. “No, is it going to be Uncle Clay?” She asks eagerly. 

“Uh, no.” He jumps out of his truck and walks around to her door opening it. “It’s one of my friends.” She cocked her head to the side. “Is Uncle Clay not a friend of yours?”

Brock chuckles, “He is. This is one of my non-work friends. That okay with you?” He took his phone from her and checked the message before helping her out. Why were adults always glued to those things? "I guess it's okay..." She mumbles.

Jammie looks up in time to see Brock look towards the sidewalk his face breaking into a wide grin. She frowned following his gaze as the brunette from the photo came to life. The woman waved as she came closer. She was dressed like her grandma would say to be “adult-ish” in black yoga pants and a blue and white jacket. Jammeelah looked between the two and crossed her arms.

“How was yoga?” Brock asked greeting the woman with a quick peck on the lips. “It was good. I don’t feel at all relaxed but,” She shrugged. Then the woman’s blue eyes fell on Jameelah and while Jammie was never going to admit it, they were pretty. Almost as pretty as Uncle Clay’s. The woman knelt before her, “You must be Jameelah Perry,” Jammie nodded, taking the smallest step back only to bump into Brock’s legs. The woman gave her a warm, welcoming smile, “I’m Casper but my friends call me Cassie,” Cassie held out a hand from Jameelah to shake but she didn’t accept it. Only stared at it. The woman glances at Brock who gives a small shrug. “Sometimes she can be shy, don’t worry about it.”  _ I am not shy,  _ Jammie wanted to say but they were already moving. 

“You hungry?” Brock asked the woman, she nodded. “Starving.” They were about to cross the street at the crosswalk when Brock stopped Jammie, “Take my hand, JP.” He held it out to her but just glanced at it. “I’m fine.” She tried to say in her most adult voice. Brock snorted. “Sweetie, it’s a busy street take my hand.” 

“I’m a big girl, Uncle Brock. I’ll be ten next month.” Brock snorts in response. 

Cassie shrugs, “She’s got a point, B. Ten’s a very adult age.” 

“Who’s side are you on?” 

“Us woman gotta stick together.” Jameelah shot her a look but didn’t say anything. 

“Look, Jammie, you’re my responsibility, if something happens to you it’s on me. So take my hand.”

“You can take my hand if you want, Jameelah.” Cassie offers and holds out her hand. Quickly, Jammie takes Brock’s hand. The handler stuck his tongue out playfully at his girlfriend as they crossed the street. 

Snagging a booth near the back, Jameelah sat on the inside next to Brock who chose the side where he could see who entered the diner, just like her dad does whenever they eat out, while Cassie sat across from them and placed her small purse down beside her.  “Hey, kiddo, why don’t you go wash up before we order?” Brock suggests sliding out of his seat so Jammie can pass. She nods and slid out. “Want me to come with you?” Cassie offers sweetly. Which for Jammie was the wrong thing to say. “I’m not five, I can wash my hands by myself.” That was the end of that. Jammie trudged off towards the back. 

“Well, I think it’s safe to say she doesn’t like me.”

“Oh come on,” Brock grabbed his menu, “She just doesn’t know you. It’s nothing personal.” 

A waiter comes over, “Can I get you two anything to drink?” 

“Ah,” Brock shares a quick look with Cassie who just nods to his mentally asked question, “We’ll take two glasses of water with lemon and then a small Coke.” The teen jotted it down, “Okay, I’ll be right back with those.”

Casper leaned back, her eyes tracing the menu as she unzipped her jacket partially, revealing her blue sports bra underneath. The humidity was killing her today. Brock’s eyes trail over her, he swallows hard and looks down at his menu just as the teen returned with their drinks. "Are you guys ready to order?” 

“Not yet, we’re waiting on the youngest member.” The kid nodded and quickly disappeared as fast as he had the first time. 

Brock just shared a small smile with Cassie before the two went back to their menus. His hand finding its way to hers. “I think Jammie crush you,” Casper says, her eyes never leaving the chicken sandwiches. The dog handler chokes on his water, “What the fuck, Cassie,” He tries to get his breathing under control but keeps coughing. 

Finally, when he’s regained easy breathing he shoots her a look, “I’m fine, by the way.”

She rolls her eyes, “I’ve never understood why when someone is coughing the thing everyone does is ask if they’re okay, clearly they’re not. And they aren’t going to respond. So it would’ve been pointless to ask if you’re okay. Besides, if I thought you were in any real danger I would’ve acted. But you’re fine.” 

He went to respond to her statement but Jameelah had returned. He shot Cassie  _ This isn’t over, _ look then moved so Jammie could slip in. “Hey, I’m gonna go call your dad real quick, let him know where we are. Okay?” The young girl nodded and watched as Brock squeezed Cassie’s shoulder as he walked past. 

“You’re dating Uncle Brock?” Cassie looks over at the nine-year-old and nods. “Yep.” 

“Do you work with him?” Jammie asks giving the stranger a skeptical look before frowning at her children’s menu. She glances at Brock’s menu and then Cassie’s before looking back at her own. 

“Uh, no. I’m a teacher.” 

“How’d you meet?” 

Cassie smiles and Jammie’s seen that look before. It’s the same look her mom gives her dad. “He came to my classroom one day with Cerberus for a presentation and uh…” she lets out a soft laugh, “We just hit it off I think is the best way to describe it.” There was more to the story, but Jammie didn’t press, it was probably one of those “adult” stories that grown-ups didn’t want to share because she had “little” ears.

“Are we ready to order?” The waiter asks reappearing. Cassie nods before looking at Jameelah, “Ready to order, sweetie?” Jammie frowns at her kid menu again, Cassie notices the look and glances at the waiter, “Give us a sec?” He nods and moves to a different table. Casper slides over a little so she’s in front of Jammie. “You want to be treated like a big girl, huh.” Jammie nods slowly suddenly feeling silly. Cassie takes the children’s menu and switches it with Brock’s. “You can order off the B’s menu,” Jammeelah looks up in shock at the adult, “but,” Cassie stresses, “whatever you don’t finish, you have to take home as leftovers and actually eat them later. Okay?” Jammie nods, “Thank you.” Casper just grins. “We all like being treated like adults, JP. I get it.” 

After lunch, the trio leaves the diner, Jammeelah proudly carrying a to-go container with her sandwich. Brock wraps an arm around Cassie’s waist and pulls her closer, “What’re you doing for the rest of the day?” She mimics the Seal wrapping an arm around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder. “Nothing exciting. Why?” “Mm, batting cages tonight? Beer and pizza?” He kisses her on the head and with his free hand stops Jameelah from walking out into the street. “Mr. Reynolds, you sure do know how to spoil a woman.” He laughs and takes Jammie’s hand to cross the street. 

“Hey Jammie, have you decided on what kind of pet you want to get?” Cassie leans against Brock’s truck watching as he digs for his keys. How he always misplaced them was beyond her. 

“I want a puppy, but everyone thinks I’m too small for a dog.” Cassie frowns and squats down, “Well, sweetie, what kind of dog do you want?” 

Jameelah’s face lit up. “I want one like Cerberus!” Brock dropped his keys, “What?” The nine-year-old nods. “I want a dog just like Cerberus.” The new couple shares a look before Brock joins Cassie at eye-level with the kid. “Jammie, Cerberus is a working dog. He’s got a lot of energy.” 

“But I have a lot of energy, so it’s perfect.” She grins. 

“Sweetie,” Brock pauses looking for the right words. “You’ve watched the dog show after the Thanksgiving parade, right?” She nods, listening intently. “Okay well, you’ve seen the working-class group, right?” Another nod, “Okay, well Cerberus would be a part of that. See he’s been bred to work. He needs to move, constantly. We take him on runs or go hiking in the morning, and I have to train him every day at work. Dogs like Cerberus are a heavy commitment and should only be brought into a family who can give them that type of commitment.”  Jameelah nods slowly, understanding a bit more now. Her mom was busy keeping the house running, and her dad worked a lot. And while she may think of herself as a big girl, she also knew her parents weren’t going to let her go for walks and hikes by herself.

“You know, Jammie,” Cassie starts, “when I was your age, I got my first pet too. I got a guinea pig. I named her Mrs. Foggybottoms.” Jammie laughs at the name. “Now, because you’re a big girl, you don’t have to take my suggestion. Just think of it as food for thought. Do with it what you will, you’ll come to your own decision. I’m sure of it.”

Jameelah smiles. “I will, thank you.” Brock opened the door for the young lady and turned the truck on for her. He rolled down his window before shutting the door and walking over to Cassie who was leaning against her red convertible.

“Decided to take the Vett out, today. Huh?” He grinned lowering his head to capture her lips. Cassie quickly pulls away, Jammie was starting to come around to her and the last thing she wanted was to hurt that forming trust. She licks her lips and nods. “It may be humid as fuck but it’s still a beautiful day to take Molly out.” Brock laughs and pulls her against him, his arms wrapping around her waist, “It’s good to see Jammie warming up to you.” Casper shrugs, “She wanted to be treated like an adult, so that’s what I’m doing.” He gives a confused look. 

“Children at this age are in a limbo,” she starts, her fingers playing with the hem of his shirt, “First of all, they’re slowly realizing that the opposite sex doesn’t have cooties. On top of that, they’re learning to pay attention to the real world, and they’re finding their voice. But their parents and adults that help raise them, like you and the guys, still see them as children. It’s frustrating for them.” Brock gives her a weird look, “Cass, she’s nine.” 

“Yes, and she wants to be treated like a big girl, especially in front of you.” She nudges him gently. “Look, trust me, I know what I’m talking about. I see it every day. Now is not the time to treat her like a child, she’s finding her voice. You just gotta be the adult that listens.” He nods slowly. “Okay,” She kisses him and goes to leave but he pulls her back. “Jameelah Perry does not like me.” Casper snorts. “Please, if she were an emoji she’d be the one with heart eyes. She adores you, Broccoli.”  _ Fucking Spenser.  _ “As I said, it’s a weird time to be nine and ten, sadly it doesn’t get any better,” she meets his blue eyes, “Come on, you’re telling me you never had a crush on an adult figure when you were a kid? I’ve got ten-year-old boys giving me the same look she’s giving you.” 

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times causing his girlfriend to laugh. “I didn’t think any of my elementary teachers were cute, most of them were old. Now, high school and college are a different story.” Casper snickers, “But you get my point at least?” He nods pulling her closer, his hands sliding under the jacket and running over the smooth skin of her back.

“When I was her age, I had the biggest crush on my third-grade teacher,” Cassie says, “One day, on the playground I fell and completely ripped the skin off of my knee. It was bloody and there were pebbles and some bark stuck in it. It was painful and disgusting. But my teacher came to the rescue with a first-aid kit. He cleaned up the knee and patched me up. Then, he kissed right here,” she boops Brock on the nose, “and I was all better.” She grins at the fond memory. 

“Yeah…” Brock kisses her head, a smile playing at his lips, “where’s the pedo now?”

Casper gasps and smacks his chest, “Only you, Mr. Reynolds can take such a sweet story and make it terrible!” He bursts out laughing. “Shut up, and for your information, he’s retired and,  _ and _ , he’s gay. And has been since he was in college. So ha!” Brock snorts, “So your first crush was on a gay man? Very classy, Cassie.” She smacks his chest again. “Shut up. Don’t you have a kid waiting on you?”

Brock nods and lets her go, but Cassie keeps her arms around his waist. She studies his eyes and the heavy lines surrounding them. “Hey,” she cups his face, “you good?” He looked exhausted but he nods. “Yeah.” She doesn’t believe him but here and now isn’t that place to drag it out of him. She’ll do it later after the batting cages when he’s more inclined to be open. 

“See you tonight.” He says, kissing her softly before letting her go to her car. She gives a quick wave before driving off. 

Brock climbs into his truck and looks back at Jammie, “You good?” She nods. 

“Have you decided on what you want to do?”

Jameelah thinks for a moment, “I want a guinea pig.” 

Brock grins, “Guinea pig it is.” 

***

“Oh honey, you have your very first pet!” Naima cheers as Jammie enters the house with a little box that held the multi-colored rodent. “And it’s a Guinea pig?” She sounds excited but Brock can see the look on her face, she wanted Jammie to get a fish, “How cool is that! Let’s go show RJ.” She leads her daughter off as Brock places the animals’ cage on the table along with a bag of guinea pig essentials. 

“Man, I thought we agreed on a plant.” Ray looked over his shoulder to make sure his daughter was around.

“You can’t cuddle a plant, Ray.” Brock grins. 

Ray rubs his face, “How long do these things live, anyway?” 

“Oh, they live for about 10 to 12 years. So it’s like a dog. Oh, and you might want to buy it a companion at some point.” Brock leaps back as Ray lunges towards him. 

Brock runs out of the house laughing as Ray chases him.

Later that evening Naima sits next to Jameelah who just finished setting up her new pet’s home. “What’re you thinking about naming, her, baby?”

Jammie smiles watching the little creature walk around, “Mrs. Foggybottoms.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! I'd love to know your thoughts and opinions on this little fic!
> 
> I'm currently writing an "origin story" on how Brock and Cassie meet and became a couple if that is something y'all would be interested in, please let me know!


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